2GB vs 4GB RAM in Vista?

[Ph4ZeD]

Hi all. I've built myself a nice rig and play very computer intensive games like Crysis/Supreme Commander, etc. I'm running with 2GB RAM atm and was wondering if anyone has upgraded to 4GB and could give me some advice regarding what performance increase (if any) I can expect in games and general use? RAM is so cheap these days and Scan has some great deals on Corsair memory it seems silly not to!

[Jay]

are you running Vista or XP x64?

[AdamAnubis]

If you have 64bit, go for it. It just overall makes the system a tiny bit more responsive, and loading times etc are reduced. A good game to compare is in company of heroes, my memory useage halfed when i upgraded - extremely noticeable difference.

If you look at this it might help you make up your mind

I had 4gb, it broke, and am now running on 1gb. The difference is immence!

[pow4]

I use 2 Gb in with Home Premium and all get used up whenever I'm running Photoshop and another program. Vista is a power hungry OS. So go for 4GB if you can.

[Bugbait]

Agree with all of the above, if you're running Vista x64 then definitely upgrade from 2 to 4Gig if you can. If you're not using all of the memory (check peak usage) then you can increase performance by disabling the swap file. I run 8Gig (slight overkill for my current needs) with no swap file and Vista is a completely different beast compared to "only" 2Gig.

[eden188]

Before you plunge into the 64bits world, make sure that you have all the necessary 64 bits drivers for all your devices.

One other problem I have found, not sure whether it is Vista 64 bits related is that if you have ATI VGA card, you may come across a lot of 'hang' problem or GPU recoveries. I have managed to resolve this now after trawling through the web for a solution.

[Ph4ZeD]

I've got a 9800GX2, although I've already had a plague of driver issues from it

[Singh400]

Would highly recommend 4GB (2x2GB) kit from Corsair: http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=782925

Got this memory myself, gonna install it tomorrow.

[richieuk]

I read an article today in MicroMart magazine about the difference, it makes alot of sense to upgrade, especially on 64bit systems, it helps most in application switching.

Basically, alot of applications that are memory intensive will use the pagefile on a harddrive if the memory is full. This MASSIVLEY drops the speed of your system when this is accessed. Imagine an extra 2gig (think about it, its alot of space) that it doesn't need to page-file. Thats massivley quicker to access.

In example, from COD4 alt-tabbing to MSN in game takes over a minute with 2Gig, only 6 seconds with 4Gig...

Worth it? I definatley think

[NovaSphere]

Maybe a dumb question and not completly topic related (sorry =p)

But is there any difference in getting 4gb of ram with 4x1GB sticks or with 2x2GB sticks?
Assuming both ways dual channel would work ¿¿ lol any difference in performance that way?

[TAKTAK]

Originally Posted by NovaSphere

Maybe a dumb question and not completly topic related (sorry =p)

But is there any difference in getting 4gb of ram with 4x1GB sticks or with 2x2GB sticks?
Assuming both ways dual channel would work ¿¿ lol any difference in performance that way?

some motherboards require a bit more juice to run stabley with 4DIMMS but thats about it...

[Ph4ZeD]

Is it worth doing for just 32-bit systems?

[richieuk]

Still yes, mind you, the bigger your graphics memory, the less benefit you'll reap.

(eg/ 1GB GT280 = 3Gig Ram can be used out of 4)
or
(eg/ 256MB 8600 = 3.75Gig Ram can be used out of 4)

[Ph4ZeD]

I've got 1GB (got a 9800GX2). I'm happy to goto 64-bit but im worried about drivers><

[Emirzan]

I found the corsair application notes on 2gb vs. 4gb to be quite helpful and well written.

AN804: Gaming Performance Analysis – 4GB vs 2GB

The test results for switching between active applications is enough to convince me personally. I'll most certainly be using 4gb in my next build (which hopefully will be in the near future).

[Kerotan]

With the price of DDR2 nowadays, I'd be tempted to go for it. I'm definatley gonna get 4GB for my next build, because when I'm eventually forced to get a new OS, it will undoubtedly be 64-bit.